In operation of a conventional web-fed printer, printing occurs in a continuous manner. The substrate (e.g. paper) is fed into the printer from a roll, and as the substrate passes through the printer, information (e.g. labels) get printed on the substrate. Labels are typically printed in “frames” of a specified length as dictated by physical/technological limitations of the printer, and then repeated along the length of the web.
In some instances customers may want to print multiple labels (e.g. two or more) in different lanes next to each other (e.g. side-by-side) along the web. If the labels have the same size, then they also have the same repeat length (i.e. their tops and bottoms align with each other side-by-side on the web), and therefore fit equally in the designated “frames.” However if labels have different sizes, then they also have different repeat lengths (i.e. they do not exactly align with each other when printed side-by-side), and therefore they do not fit equally within a given frame. This misalignment results in wasted substrate due to white space between label frames or partially printed labels within a frame.